On the one hand, I'm a big fan of the "marketplace of ideas". On the other hand, as Twain said [1], "A lie can get half-way around the world before the truth gets its pants on." Given the extent to which technology has boosted speed of dissemination, I have serious concerns about market failure.
[1] Ironically, Twain apparently did not say this. Neither did Churchill. [2]
Anyone who's going to take a 4chan post as gospel falls beyond the point of what could be considered a 'market failure'. That goes double for a post on /pol/.
Buzzfeed should be the focus of this, as they claim to be news. 4chan goes out of it's way to promote people not believing anything they see on there. We have a problem if journalists are latching on to things they see on 4chan and thinking it'll fly as a source.
Sorry if I'm out of the loop, but what does Buzzfeed have to do with this? Did they also run false information today? I don't see that mentioned in this article? All I've seen from them is an article covering the various hoaxes/fake stories that are popping up and being spread widely. Thanks in advance.
I think the problem is a clear conflation of search results and news. Google Search is not an index of reputable news articles, it's an index of the internet. I don't know why anyone would read a 4chan thread and accept it as fact (it actually calls you a fool for doing so at the top of the page).
With all these Russia targeting people with Facebook Ads stories or that Blue Whale game story, I am actually worried about how easy it is for North Korea or Russia to target and trigger lunatics like this.
I mean, I see normal people ranting and raging about pointless stuff they read on social media everyday. What's the effect of this fake news and outrage on deeply troubled folk?
It really scares me what all this info is doing to people.
[1] Ironically, Twain apparently did not say this. Neither did Churchill. [2]
[2] https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/07/13/truth/